{"id":5998,"date":"2020-01-10T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jfbelievers.com\/?p=5998"},"modified":"2020-01-10T12:50:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:50:00","slug":"humdrum-hollow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/10\/humdrum-hollow\/","title":{"rendered":"HUMDRUM & HOLLOW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s no secret that Christians are supposed to be \u201cmissional<\/em>\u201d. We read<\/em> about it and talk<\/em>\nabout it and think<\/em> about it. But many\nChristians aren\u2019t personally convinced that they\u2019re being<\/em> it\u2026and perhaps you are one of them. You\u2019re not sure how<\/em> to do it, or what it really means<\/em>. You\u2019d really like<\/em> to be used by God, and to varying degrees you try<\/em>, but you\u2019re not sure if it\u2019s actually\nhappening<\/em>. You wish God\u2019s will was\nclearer, and you wish you had more evidence that you were truly in it. But, as\nit is, you\u2019re not satisfied with your performance. You don\u2019t feel too missional<\/em> at all. And you don\u2019t feel\nvery radical<\/em> either. And sometimes,\nyou start wondering if you\u2019re even being remotely biblical<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MOTIVE:<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA worker\u2019s hunger drives him on<\/em>\u201d (Pr. 16:26)<\/em>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People naturally start to feel hungry when they don\u2019t eat enough food. That\u2019s usually how we know it\u2019s time for supper. In the same way, Christians get famished when they lose sight of God’s will. They might stuff their lives with religious activities that look<\/em> spiritually nutritious, but they’re left feeling empty anyway. The real \u201cfood<\/em>\u201d of a Christian is to \u201cdo the will of Him who sent us<\/em>\u201d, and some of you are getting hungry. In spite of the fact that you\u2019re busy at church, and diligently reading your Bible, you feel a pang. Your appetite is growing, and becoming harder to ignore. You really, really want something to eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that Christians are supposed to be \u201cmissional<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Good intentions, however, as sincere they may be, won\u2019t always get the job done. Countless men & women have discovered within themselves a strong desire to live an effective life in their community, yet go no further than that. People like this want the satisfaction of spiritual vitality, but they aren\u2019t engaging their community unless it\u2019s in a group setting, sanctioned by the church.<\/font> They’d like to be an effective Christian witness, but they aren\u2019t winning souls to Christ like other people seem to be. They want the fullness of a fruitful Christian life, but their branches are still barren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MANDATE:<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo! \u2026I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say<\/em>\u201d (Ex.4:12)<\/em>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, the reason for spiritual malnourishment like this, is fear<\/em>. A hunger-suppressing dread that helps people avoid the real meal, and still live with a relative amount of comfort. They aren\u2019t as healthy or as happy as they could be, but they aren\u2019t exactly dying either, and so their spiritual life remains the same: Humdrum & hollow<\/em>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are apprehensive about sharing the truth with intimidating people, join the club. Moses did his best to avoid it (Ex.4:13), Jeremiah complained about it (Jer.20:7-8), and Paul asked for prayer on it (Eph.6:19). From beginning to end, the Kingdom of God has been stocked with people who are challenged by their charge. Being missional comes naturally to no one, but if you\u2019re waiting for this to become easy, you\u2019ll be waiting for a long time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MISSION:<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fields are ripe\u2026I sent you to reap<\/em>\u201d (Jn.4:38)<\/em>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In John 4 the Disciples had gone in to town for food, leaving Jesus behind at an isolated well. He\u2019s all alone<\/em>. There was little, if any opportunity whatsoever to be missional at that point. Until, of course, a spiritually destitute woman just-so-happens to show up. Jesus, not one to believe in \u2018coincidence\u2019, then commits a massive cultural faux pas, by initiating a conversation with that strange woman (a Samaritan<\/em> nonetheless). Jewish norms forbade such interaction, but Jesus made the decision in that moment, to do \u201cthe will of God who sent Him<\/em>\u201d instead of abiding by man\u2019s self-protective customs. God wanted Him to say something to that otherwise repulsive woman. So that’s what He did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as you would\u2019ve anticipated, things got painfully\nawkward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Disciples were rendered nearly speechless when they returned and saw what was going on. They did their best to reduce the inherent tension of Jesus-style evangelism by \u201curging Jesus to eat<\/em>\u201d. They just wanted to hurry things along so they could feel ordinary again. Jesus’ men wanted to get themselves out of the situation as fast as possible, because they couldn\u2019t stomach the social pressure, and had no real appetite for that kind of work.<\/font> They preferred to go hungry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound familiar? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MEAL:<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLift up your eyes and look<\/em>\u201d (Jn.4:35)<\/em>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re feeling useless & unsettled about the contributions you\u2019ve been making (or not making) to Jesus\u2019 mission, you\u2019ve got an important decision to make: Either ignore the conviction, or do something about it. I would encourage you to eat. Stop letting fear suppress your desire to engage the people around you in meaningful dialogue, and let yourself be fed by it. Even when there seems to be little, if any opportunity whatsoever to be missional, lift up your eyes and look. You\u2019re not as alone as you might\u2019ve thought, and it\u2019s no coincidence that you are where you are. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there really is more work to be done in God\u2019s Kingdom than there are workers to do it (Luke 10:2), it follows that God would gladly supply you with as much work as you have hours to fill (Matthew 20:1-7). It\u2019s useless for us, like His Disciples, to try and get Jesus to quit forcing us into clumsy social situations. The awkwardness of Christian evangelism is the very food He\u2019s urging us to eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how hungry are you?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlessed are those who are hungry\u2026they<\/strong> will<\/strong> be<\/strong> filled<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Jesus has offered to share His \u201cfood<\/em>\u201d with anyone who\u2019s willing to eat it. His style of mission & ministry might not be the most appetizing to your<\/em> eyes<\/em>, but there is nothing like it to so nourish your<\/em> soul<\/em>. If you\u2019re feeling weak and unsatisfied in your spiritual performance, you need to dine with Him. A growling stomach won\u2019t feed itself, but it\u2019s usually enough to get something out of you, isn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission of God is, and always has been, for people like you and me to reach others with the truth. Those strange, repulsive, socially intimidating people that we’re surrounded by. You can share Jesus with anybody you want to…any time…any where…any one. Nothing will fill you up like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time for supper. Let\u2019s eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Click here to watch an inspirational story<\/a> about a Christian kid who was hungry for more, faced his fears, and was filled beyond measure for \u201cdoing the will of God who sent him<\/em>\u201d)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that Christians are supposed to be \u201cmissional\u201d. We read about it and talk about it and think about it. But many Christians aren\u2019t personally convinced that they\u2019re being it\u2026and perhaps you are one of them. You\u2019re not sure how to do it, or what it really means. You\u2019d really like to be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastors-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}